EIGHT TIPS TO BE AN EFFECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVER

There is this fable about a horseman who set forth on a journey, driving before him an Ass and a horse, both well loaded. The Ass, as long as he traveled along the plain, carried his load with ease, but when he began to ascend the steep path of the mountain, felt his load to be more than he could bear. He entreated his companion to relieve him of a small portion, that he might carry home the rest; but the Horse paid no attention to the request. The Ass shortly afterwards fell down dead under his burden. Not knowing what else to do in so wild a region, the Horseman placed upon the Horse the load carried by the Ass in addition to his own, and at the top of all placed the skin of the Ass, after he had skinned him. The Horse, groaning beneath his heavy burden, said to himself: “I am treated according to my deserts. If I had only been willing to assist the Ass a little in his need, I should not now be bearing, burden, together with his skin.” Actually, the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

The twenty-second principle of destiny fulfillment is:

Be a problem solver

This principle is very timely and can become one of our New Year resolutions.
Our capacity and willingness to solve people’s problems, is a serious guarantee to successfully end our destiny journey, when it comes to succeeding the God’s way. Any talent and gift God has given us, is destined to serve and meet the need of others. To God we cannot be considered as successful if we have not used our potentials to solve people’s problems. Success is mostly achieved when we work for others, rather than against them or in isolation from them.

Solving people’s problems is a small responsibility and a big privilege. Most of the time we are skeptical when people come to us to solve their problems; we see their problems as a threat to quietness. On the contrary, people’s problems should be seen less as a threat and more as an opportunity.
Through people’s difficulties we have a chance to invest in them and by so doing satisfy part of our moral responsibility. Be a problem solver. When you set out to help solve people’s problems, you are actually rendering an enormous service, because it is the very purpose for which God has endowed you (1 Cor 12:7).But, in the long run solving people’s problem also serves as an investment and a seed for your own problems to be solved in return (Luke 6:38). Someone who needs your help today may become your help tomorrow.
Problem solvers are like doctors to those they assist. Any person who has ever been through some serious issues, knows how much relieve they received when someone set in to assist them. People in problems don’t necessarily need just financial assistance. All problems are not financial problems. People in problems need just help. Hence any one of us can be a problem solver with what we have. At times just a word of comfort or a cheer is sufficient for someone in trouble. We all have the means to be problem solvers, we can all be problem solvers, and we should all be problem solvers. Just Accept people’s problems, welcome them, be interested in them, and you’re halfway to solving them.TIPS TO BE AN EFFECTIVE PROBLEM-SOLVER1-Have Attention
This is the ability to show that you care. The problem-solver is someone with attention for the people. We should show concern for people’s deepest needs. To be concerned doesn’t mean you are mushy or patronizing, but when people are around you, you should sense their interest and care, and they should leave you feeling that they are important. The most efficient doctor is the one who makes his patients feel important.2- Give Provision
It is the ability to reach out. A problem-solver is someone who can provide for people. We should learn how to give if we want to solve people’s problems. We have said that everything God gives us; talents, gifts, blessings etc… is always for other people, never for self only. People have problems and beside mercy and concern, they also need help, they need someone who will expose himself to them and relate with their troubles. They need creative proposition to deal with their problems. They need to be offered some hope!3-Lead people to Realization
Realization is the ability to make things happen. A problem-solver is someone who can make things happen in the lives of people. We should try as much as possible to make things happen in the lives of people when they need us to solve their problems.4-Lead them Production
This is the ability to produce. A problem-solver is someone who can make people produce. Everybody wants to be productive. If you can be able to make people productive, you will be solving a serious problem in the lives of people. To succeed we should not only win, we should also make others win.5- Bring Stimulation
Stimulation is the ability to lead. A problem-solver is someone who can stimulate others to produce results. We should learn to stimulate others to release their inborn qualities and potentials and produce results for their own benefit and satisfaction. Only succeeding to it is already great success. All of us can influence others in one way or the other. These are tools you can use to bring a positive influence in the lives of people:
Your position or title, Your job, Your sphere of influence, Your expertise, and Your character and credibility. The way you do things and the results you have already obtained in life guarantee you some certain amount of credibility. You can use your credibility to help someone who needs only recognition for his life to change for the better.6- Have Sensation
It is the ability to feel and respond. A problem-solver should be sensitive to people’s troubles and changing situations. Alan R. Zimmerman testifies in his book Staying up in a down world that during the 13th century, King Frederick, the head of the Holy Roman Empire, conducted a most unusual experiment. He wondered what language babies would speak if no one ever spoke to them. So he gathered together a large number of babies for his experiment. The caretakers were instructed to feed and clothe the babies, but no one was to ever speak to them. Of course, King Frederick never learned the answer to his question. All of the babies died. Human beings cannot live without some form of recognition or some sense of hope.7- Bring Inspiration
The secret of inspiring others is providing them with hope. People are constantly in need of inspiration and hope. Anyone who stands out to offer these two scare commodities will be solving a lot of problems in people’s lives. Learn affirmation skills, ways to verbally encourage others and convey belief and support in others. Never let good work go unnoticed. Use the other person’s name. Everyone’s been trained to listen more carefully to those sentences that include his name.8- Practice Affirmation
It is the ability to build others up. A problem solver builds others up. We all need affirmation and encouragement from time to time. I have yet to find the man, however exalted his station who do not do great work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism. Everyone wants and needs to be affirmed for his accomplishment. We tend to become what the most important person in our life thinks we will become. Think the best, believe the best, and express the best in others. Too many people kill off the hope in others; they correct too many faults at the same time. So much of the time. The hope you build or kill in others is not so much in function of what you say but how you say it.
In conclusion, Generosity will sometimes do you no good, but at other times it will repay you double. Success has nothing to do with what you gain or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others. We can build up ourselves and others through a life of service. There is satisfaction in it. There is joy in it; it gives our lives a purpose, a meaning and a value. Be kind to people on your way up so that they will be kind to you on your way down. If you go out looking for friends, you’re going to find they are very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere. You can have everything in life that you want if you just give other people what they want.